Laguna Beach Tournament : Katella Wins Game at Free-Throw Line

Katella High School made 15 of 18 free throws and all five of its shots from the field in the fourth quarter to hold off Corona del Mar to capture the 17th Laguna Beach tournament with a 61-57 victory over the Sea Kings Saturday night at Laguna Beach.

Center Richard Lucas led the free-throw parade by making 9 of 11 attempts in the final quarter to finish with 27 points. Lucas, who will attend Oregon State next fall, was named the most valuable player of the 16-team tournament.

Only a year ago, Lucas was a mediocre 52% free-throw shooter, but he looked like the franchise player, a term that Knight Coach Tom Danley often uses to refer to the 6-foot 7-inch senior.

“I know, I was a terrible free-throw shooter last year,” Lucas said. “It’s something I worked on a lot over the summer. I shot a lot of free throws every day. It was one of the phases of my game I knew needed improving.”

Lucas’ two free throws with 3:37 remaining gave Katella a 51-41 lead and the closest Corona del Mar could get was the final score. The Sea Kings led only once, 2-0, but Lucas responded with a towering dunk and set the tone for the game.

“Katella’s depth and the inside play of Lucas was the difference,” said Corona del Mar Coach Paul Orris. “They deserve all the credit. Their whole team made clutch free throws at the end, and they deserved to win.”

Corona del Mar trailed, 20-9, after one quarter as Lucas opened with 10 points. But the Sea Kings shut out the big guy in the second quarter and trailed by only three points, 27-24, at halftime.

Guard Darren Morris had an opportunity to move the Sea Kings ahead with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter, but the guard missed two free throws, and Katella moved safely back ahead, 36-28, later in the period.

“I knew Corona del Mar was well-coached, quick, an excellent defense and had some good shooters,” said Danley. “They had it all. But I also knew they didn’t have our depth, and I didn’t think they could contain Lucas.”

While Lucas was named the MVP, the role of Katella point guard John Sunu could not be overlooked. Sunu ran the offense well and contributed 13 points.

In the third-place game:

Tustin 84, Los Alamitos 79--Forward Rog Middleton equaled the Tillers’ single-game scoring record with 45 points. Middleton scored 45 points last year in Tustin’s season finale against El Modena.

The 6-4 senior made 18 of 23 shot attempts and 9 of 14 free throws. He also had 10 rebounds. Ryan Blossey paced Los Alamitos with 28 points and teammate Moe Warner added 21 points.

In the consolation championship:

Whittier Christian 63, Laguna Beach 51--Junior forward Erik Martin scored 24 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to lead the Heralds. Martin made 8 of 15 shot attempts and 8 of 11 free throws. Whittier Christian opened a 10-0 lead and was never threatened.

In the seventh-place game:

Estancia 70, Huntington Beach 37--Center Matt Barkley scored 18 points to lead the Eagles (2-2) over the Oilers (1-3). Matt Allen added 12 points and eight rebounds for Estancia. The Eagles played without guard Brian Tift.